BonaResponds Kickoff meeting!

THURSDAY September 1 5:30PM-6:30PM (this Thursday). BonaResponds general interest meeting. MURPHY AUD

WE ARE LOOKING FOR MORE LEADERS TOO!!

We will lay out upcoming work days, trips, BonasandBeyond (when we will be hosting Haitians on campus for classes and more)

We will also be discussing:

1. Upcoming local work days! (MUCH work ahead!!) Trail work, ramps, clean-ups, tutoring, and more!
2. A Possible/probable Louisiana fall break trip for flood clean up
3.  WarmSnugglyBlanket--blankets of people with cancer (and other challenges) 
4.  HaitiScholarships -which has 41 students studying this year in Haiti 
5. BonasandBeyond -which just started this spring and now has over 7700 people following us on Facebook! Mainly from Africa and SE Asia and Haiti. 
6. PositiveRipples--the umbrella over much of our international work. , tutoring in Haiti, how we can help bring more unity to the world and more!

The meeting will be as short as possible (and come even if you have a 6pm class!

5:30 Murphy Aud. Hope to see many of you there! :)

Come join us to make the world better and more united!

Love ALL!  Serve ALL!  Volunteer and change the world! 

Want to change the world? Improve Education!

Education wins!  Better education will lead to better govenment, better technology, better food, and longer life expectancies.  WINS all around!

Want more good news?  Money donated for scholarships goes to pay teachers in the country and not donations of goods that can ruin markets in those countries.   More WINS!

More good news?  Better education is sustainable and expanding.  Better educated parents teach their children more.  Even more WINS!

Here is an example from a recent applicant to the HaitiScholarships program (we partner with HaitiScholarships on many many projects).

In Liberia, for about $40 a year a young child can go to school (remember these are the orphans whose parents have died from Ebola).  In Haiti, the costs are a bit higher, but for less than a dollar a day ($200 for primary, $350 for High School, $800 for College)

Don't think if it as a donation (although it is a taxable donation), think of it as an investment in a better world!

Bonas and Beyond! It's about to get real!

This is going to be a huge event for BoanResponds and the Haitians who are coming. As a learning and cultural exchange event, it is definitely the biggest thing we have attempted. (it dwarfs food packing events in scope, work, and impact).

While we did not get everyone here due to VISA issues (will try earlier next year), we have a good group of 14(maybe 13--just heard today one may not be coming) Haitians who will be coming to SBU for almost 3 weeks.

The program/schedule is below. As you will see, the idea is to learn while doing. And we will be doing a great deal! Indeed, sleep is one thing we may not have much of!

We have classes (economics, finance, Environmental Science, Marketing, leadership, and political science), Seminars (Educational goals, science packs (TBD), International Law, Childhood nutrition, irrigation usage, water filters, a talk on Francis, and a few others WE HOPE), Fun trips (Niagara Falls, Allegany State Park, Chautauqua Lake), learning trips (Olean Wholesale, Park and Shop, Napoleon Engineering, SolePoxy, and Canticle Farms),BonaResponds work days (Bonagany Bonagany, Warming House, a car wash for HaitiScholarships, a wheelchair ramp, painting, trail work at minimum), and fun/fitness activities (Soccer, Yoga, hiking). Oh and if the weather allows, we hope to view the lunar eclipse too smile emoticon

In any downtime, we hope to be picking up some Creole too! (You will soon start to see flyers around campus with come Creole words that may be useful). Please make our friends feel welcome and say hi!

You can get involved and come to most of the activities as you can (trips are problematic as we still need drivers--so get approval before planning on jumping in the van for Niagara Falls). And if anyone (or any group) wants to help pay for a dinner etc, we'd love to do so! If nothing else you should plan on coming to the welcomes (7:00 pm on Thursday, 11:30 on Friday, the event at the Olean Public Library, and the October 8th "party and wrap up" in Francis Hall's San Damiano room. (but please come to other events too!)

Still also trying to get some school visits scheduled and would love a solar power seminar, but they are not definite yet.

Two issues (the main one is a lack of drivers) and also we have fewer people than we had expected, so breaking up to go to various schools is more of a problem. But we do hope to get to some local schools.

A huge thank you to the SBU Events planning, Housing, and all of the volunteers who have agreed to teach, host, and lead the students and overall make this great event possible.

Much of the material will be available online for those who could not get VISAs as well as the many who could not afford to come, so we also need people to record and video events.

https://bonasandbeyond2015.sched.org/

From FB. 

Bonas and Beyond schedule is taking shape!

Our schedule for Bonas and Beyond is taking shape!  Really filling up.  Going to be a busy 3 weeks!  Things you definitely want to come out for:

Thursday Sept 24, 7pm Welcome to WNY!  An overview and introduction to everything that is to come and a quick immersion into Haiti.   Swan (tentative location)

Friday Sept 25, 11:30 Bonaventure Welcome!  (somewhat a repeat of the 24th, but with official welcomes from School of Business Dean Carol Fischer and SBU President Sister Margaret Carney) Free Pizza. Swan.

Wednesday Sept 30, 7pm Olean Public Library: A talk on Haiti and how we can help.

Thursday Oct 8 Presentations on Haiti and discussion of next steps (MAYBE with a dinner)  Stay tuned for times and places.

We also have many classes (from Accounting to Environmental Science, Political Science to Legal Environment and even finance :) )

Weekends will largely be BonaResponds workdays.  We also have trips planned to Chautauqua Lake, Niagara Falls, Allegany State Park (we hope), the Olean Park and Shop, Olean Wholesale Group, Canticle Farms, and Napolean Engineering.  (Have other ideas?  Let us know in comments).

Many other tentatives but getting everything in is proving to be difficult.

1. We still really need drivers!  for all times.  BIGGEST NEED!
2. We would love some people groups to sponsor dinners. They do not need to be fancy.  Potlucks, BBQ, or if you want let the Haitians experience a US restaurant!
3. We are trying to get people to schools to speak, but we lost a driver during the day so it is proving more difficult.
4. Also we are looking for "adults" to RA for a night or two and be available if any problems arise (stay in dorms).
5. We hope to run a car wash fund raiser for HaitiScholarships when they are here (ideally Sept 26th---REALLY NEED SOMEONE to take ownership of it!)
6. We also want to get local soccer teams involved to have a a collection of used soccer equipment for programs in Haiti.  (if you know of anyone who plays soccer--or played soccer and might have some old equipment laying around, let us know!)

Today is the second big day for interviews with the Ambassade des États-Unis, Port-au-Prince (Haïti) .  We have written letters etc and we really hope that all participants are given an OK to come to campus!

Bonas and Beyond: Haitians coming to campus

St. Bonaventure University Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


I am super super excited to announce the Bonas and Beyond program!


This fall approximately 20 Haitian students will be coming to St. Bonaventure to participate in over 2 weeks of classes and cultural exchange. It will be a great way for the Haitians to learn about America and for members of the Bonaventure community (including local residents) to learn about Haiti.



It is going to be GREAT!







Bonas and Beyond Pamphlet




How will it work?


Haitian students will take part in a series of classes and seminars on campus and will make trips to experience local businesses, farms, and regional tourist attractions. In addition to the organized educational activities, the Haitian students will be immersed in the US culture daily. They will also have the opportunity to share lessons with their hosts on Haitian Creole, history, culture, and the Haitian economy.


After the conference, We will also be launching an online- not for credit learning program to help educate people while also making friends and associates from around the globe.


Classes will be taught on a volunteer basis by professors, students, and experts from the Bonaventure community. The classes will be in English and available online for free




What will they do?


Although visiting the US is a dream for many Haitian students, we recognize that it is a massive investment for them. It is our goal, therefore, to keep the students very active during their stay so that they can get the most out of this cultural exchange. Planned activities include:








Classes
(1 hour each)


Seminars


(1-2 hours each)


Trips


(tentative; not yet approved)






Accounting


Economics*


Finance*


Marketing


Environmental Science


Computers and leadership





*These will meet Monday, Wednesday, Friday





Note: Economics and Finance may be combined





Sanitation


Water


Irrigation Kits and Gardening


Solar Energy


Teaching (Standards)


Teaching (Practical Tips)


Project Management


St. Francis Week: We Are All One


NGO Management


Job Readiness and US College Preparation


Political Science


Physical Education


Yoga





Niagara Falls


State Park
(Allegany, most likely)


Olean Wholesale Group


Olean General Hospital


Canticle Farms


Large Dairy Farm


Local Business -TBD


Police/Municipal Building


Restaurant - TBD


Mount Irenaeus






How can you get involved?





Host a meal (or eat out with them at a local restaurant)


Sponsor a student (food alone will cost over $200 during their stay)


Allow them to present to your class or group on Haiti


Attend presentations on campus


Attend a meal on campus with the students (BBQ or wrap up meal)


Be a community host (assisting with logistics and tours)


Provide transportation to off-site activities


Donate school supplies for the students to take home


Donate soccer equipment to be shipped to Haiti





Other details:





The Haitian students will be responsible for their own transportation to and from the Buffalo International Airport. From there we will pick them up, drive them to campus, and host them in an on-campus dorm. We will also provide their daily meals, through the dining hall and off-site accommodations (including local church groups, picnics, a BBQ, etc).


Approximately 25% of the students will speak English fluently. If you know of a Haitian Creole speaker who would be willing to volunteer to be a translator, please let us know.


Transportation will be a challenge. Please let us know if you would be willing to drive.


The students will be attending men’s and women’s soccer games, watching a MNF game, etc. Participating in tailgate events would be a great cultural experience for them.


Bonagany and Francis Week will both take place during their stay.


Depending on the budget, students would ideally be provided with “goodie” bag, as well.



A pamphlet is available here:




https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YrwPGXlc9DrrFlSLnzfcgpf2x30U3IEzVh0jy89-8GE/pub

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• Bonas and Beyond: Haitians coming to campus

5 years ago...a look back to a NON BonaResponds trip and why it is still relevant

Physical Location map Haiti with departements, Equirectangular projection, N/S stretching 105 %. Geographic limits of the map: N: 20.2° N S: 17.9° N W: 74.6° E O: 71.5° E (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is from Jim's Facebook page, but many of you are not friends, so we will share here too:

5 years ago I made my first trip to Haiti and arrived on Flag Day. This year Wesley a good friend of mine from Leogane shared pictures of the day there.

5 years ago, parades, earthquake damaged roads, and traffic made it a 7 hour trip from Port au Prince to Leogane (usually about 90 min). The 7-hour drive (and I use that term loosely) showed me enough of Haiti that by the time we arrived at camp (after lights out) I knew for certain that the Haitian journey for both BonaResponds and me had just begun.

So much has changed since that trip both good and bad. People have come and gone, my mom (my largest supporter) died, @BonaResponds has grown in many ways while struggling to replace its great leaders who were lost to graduation, and so much more. But many of the friendships forged on that first trip are still rock solid.

English: Overflight of Leogane, Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We worked with All Hands Volunteers in Leogane. In my goodbye talk on that first trip I remember saying that the work in Haiti was far from over and that the long run work needed would last decades. From infrastructure and basic needs to schools and education, there remains much to do. Fortunately many Haitians are taking the lead this time and doing incredible work. I have been exceedingly fortunate to be able to meet (and work alongside) many of these modern day nation builders. I encourage you all to get involved and help raise the standard of living for all.

There are so many things that we could be doing to support the work of our Haitian friends if we had more involvement: a car wash fundraiser to fund more partial scholarships through HaitiScholarships, solar for schools and businesses through PositiveRipples, funding more gardens through Bona Responds, or making donations to any of the many groups we have worked with.

English: Satellite image showing deforestation in Haiti. This image depicts the border between Haiti (left) and the Dominican Republic (right). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Their success is amazing. From garden projects, to wells, composting toilets Haitians are doing the necessary work. Groups we have worked with (and helped fund) planted well over 2000 trees in the last month alone to reduce deforestation. We have now shipped nearly 130 pallets of school supplies (and medical supplies) to groups and schools on the ground in Haiti (with the next shipment going out Saturday), and via our spinoff HaitiScholarships) have given partial scholarships for scores of students to attend school.

But (and there is always a but), the work is daunting. So many people do not have access to clean water, electricity, or a good education. We can make a dent in this.

A trick in behavioral finance/economics (a class I teach) is to publically make the statement which then becomes a binding constraint. It is paradoxical from a rational perspective as you are giving up flexibility, but it works (see Stickk.com), but it works. So let me publically state that my goal is to have at least 4 more scholarship winners in Les Cayes, 6 more in Leogane, as well as two solar electric systems installed by the time schools start in Fall. (and for the first time, some of these new scholarships will be set aside for female students to increase their opportunities).

To conclude, I want to wish all of Haiti a belated happy flag day and ask everyone to get involved and to help make the world (and in particular Haiti) a better place!

(long list of names of people and organizations deleted)

Finally, please let me address the ubiquitous "But there are poor people here" comment that is bound to come. "YES YES YES" there are many poor people everywhere and I encourage you to work at home as well. BonaResponds does local work almost every week of the year. Unfortunately, I have been on way too many BonaResponds local work days with no volunteers to believe that this type of comment is anything more than chafe to distract from the real issue: there are too many poor people in the world. Too many who are not given the same opportunities as others. We are all one human race. We live in on the same planet. We did not choose where (or when) to be born. As those of us who won the "birth lottery" we owe it to everyone to help raise their standard of living whether they live in the USA, Haiti, or anywhere else.

Don't forget Haiti! THANK YOU everyone on this list and the many others. Just thinking back to each of you has given me more hope and encouragement! We can do this. We can (and will) make things better! I hope many of you agree! We'd loev to have you involved!!

Collections for Haiti, Liberia, and the US

Our next shipment is being readied!

Items will mainly be going to Haiti for schools. soccer, and garden programs.  However, we will also be shipping some items to the CYC-Liberia group and their orphanage there.  We will also be giving books (pre K- 12th grade) to local school children in NY and PA.

We will be packing supplies for Haiti and Liberia this Saturday. 

Please drop off new or lightly used soccer equipment (balls, shoes, whistles, etc), school supplies (paper, pens, pencils, calculators, backpacks), small gardening tools/work gloves, toys, or children's books to 104B in Swan or bring them to the lower parking lot (by the BonaResponds Trailer this Saturday between 10:35 and 11:15. (earlier is better as we will be able to sort and assign the donations to various groups.

Also we'd still love someone to sponsor shipping of a barrel (we fill each barrel with about $1000 of value--it costs us about $120 to ship) or to sponsor the water for the soccer practices ($30 a month) or to pay for a student scholarship (remember the last count was 23/60 in school, we want it up to 100%) at $20 a month (via HaitiScholarships)

Related articles

• Soccer programs in Haiti
• The Bishop of Jacmel Haiti on the importance of educatuon and how you can help

The Bishop of Jacmel Haiti on the importance of educatuon and how you can help

Today we are sharing with you the words of the Catholic Bishop Launay Saturne of Jacmel:

"Without education we will remain in the current situation until the end of time.
Haiti's schools are a far cry from those of neighboring Dominican Republic, let alone those of more developed countries: Textbooks and basic supplies are hard to come by; few teachers have more than a ninth-grade education; buildings are in need of repair; equipment is virtually nil." (from http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1501166.htm)

Through donated school supplies (and in few cases more direct support) BonaResponds helps support education throughout Haiti. And of course we work hand in hand with @HaitiScholarships on a daily basis (if you want to see your money make an impact, make a donation to Haitischolarships and just watch! WOW! )

But as Bishop Launay suggests, the need is still very great and we are all called to increase our efforts to make a greater impact.

The good news is that we can do this. It is a winnable battle, but only with your help.

There is no single magic bullet. There is no single Lone Ranger that can change things. But together, with many strands, we can.

* Late last night we sent about $230 to our volunteers in Leogane to help a school with a fence and their garden program to help both teach (and feed) their students.

* This Sunday night we will have a Haitischolarships board meeting to discuss ways to increase fundraising.

* Next weekend we will be packing barrels of books and school supplies.

How can you help?

* Make a donation (either money or school supplies)

* Collect lightly used notebook paper at your office

* Donate used notebook computers

* Sponsor a student through HaitiScholarships (for $1 a day..think about it).

* Pay for a solar electric system for a school (rough cost is $1500 each)

* Become a marketing intern! Both HaitiScholarships and Bona Responds would beyond love someone to help with our website and communications with donors (and would be donors).

Our future efforts:

Donating books, planting gardens, and even installing solar are all good steps, but we can do so much more. For instance, we would love to sponsor a training conference in Leogane where Haitian Teachers could get together and share what is working well and what is not. We'd love to have some teachers from the US or elsewhere work with them to develop stronger curriculums, we'd love to increase the online "penpal" program, we'd love to.....but we need you to help make it a reality.

PS of course we are also still collecting soccer equipment as we believe physical education is also an important means of improving the welfare of those in Haiti.  Supplies can be dropped off to 104B in Swan Business Center.  Or mailed if you prefer to BonaResponds Box BY 104B  Swan Business Center, St, Bonaventure NY 14778

Here is our Amazon WIshlist for items we will send to Haiti. 

Much of this was posted on FB as well.  

Update on things

English: Satellite image showing deforestation in Haiti. This image depicts the border between Haiti (left) and the Dominican Republic (right). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

from our FaceBook group:

Update on things:

* Several jobs lined up for today (Saturday 10:35). Mostly inside (-14F the last I looked), but some outside work if it warms up to positive teens smile emoticon Big job is a new floor for a bathroom in Allegany county. (Sunday 11:20-- it will be tarping a roof I THINK). Relax, the roof is low.

* Thanks to the "Hurt Jim's Wallet" campaign, it was a good fundraising week that will allow us to make more WarmSnugglyBlankets(Thanks to Jim C!!) and also support the gardening and tree planting in Haiti. So THANK YOU ALL!!

* The order for new patches for blankets still has not come. I am getting worried. Tried checking on it by phone and email and no answer.

* April 11-12 International Service Weekend still taking shape. We spoke or texted with several people from Haiti, one in Bangladesh, and one from Charlotte yesterday about being involved. Would love others involved! Alumni groups? Churches? Other Schools? Past leaders? Remember: big or small. You can organize a small day for a group of friends, your work team, or just yourself. Clean up a park, teach English, visit a nursing home, paint a school room, or any of a million other things. Key idea is to make the world a little better, one person at a time. AND be a role model by sharing what you do so that others can follow your lead. (more info athttp://www.bonaresponds.org/isd.html

* Good news from Bishop Nelson in Liberia. The rent is paid! So they can now start worrying about making the orphans more at home in their new surroundings. Nelson and his crew are truly doing great work. Hats off to them!

* WRT garden or tree programs in Haiti, we heard from Onel (@TreesforLifeinHaiti), Djemson (OHAPCH), Wesley (CJM), and Rochelin (@Harvesting4Haiti) this past week. All are proceeding very well. Will be speaking with Sandra (TreeangesforHaiti) on Sunday evening to see how we can all work together more efficiently. TreeAngelsforHaiti have a big project planned in May, but alas it is during our finals as I would like to be there to help.

* We had a very good meeting with a group of new leaders on Friday afternoon. Have student leaders for soccer collections, a new local leader (each local leader will be responsible for one day per month--being the site leader, helping to get volunteers etc), and a couple of new HaitiScholarships' marketing and website plans. All in all a very productive late Friday afternoon!

* We did check into helping in Bradford PA this past week when a state of emergency was declared for a broken water line, but we were not needed.

Thanks everyone!! Get involved! Volunteer and Change the World!

The Haiti Earthquake 5 years later

Five years.  It seems like yesterday.  In the blink of an eye, so many things changed.   

Water bottle I used in Haiti. 

I remember it perfectly.  I was in Atlanta on a BonaResponds trip to help build a Children's Home that had burned to the ground. It was cold.  

It was cold. We had just got back to “camp” and were having our nightly recap/reflection meeting.  

And then I got the following tweet from CNN:

“5:14 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2010 -- A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck southern Haiti, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.”

And I somehow knew the future was changed.  I had no idea how bad the quake was yet.  But I knew instinctively that help would be needed and BonaResponds would be involved.

In the following hours and then days and weeks, the enormity of the earthquake became known:  millions of people had lost their homes and hundreds of thousands their lives.

In almost real time, news reports coupled with  thousands of tweets, blogs, and facebook posts brought the world a glimpse of the disaster to us all.  The conditions were incredible and heart breaking.  The suffering, beyond words.  An already weak infrastructure was pushed to its breaking point.   But in the midst of this disaster and suffering came my first encounters with the incredibly strength, love, and resiliency of the people of Haiti.  

By the time we arrived back at campus, thousands of helpers (paid and volunteer, military and civilian) were rushing into Haiti.  The next weeks brought harrowing tales of more suffering and some successes.  

Fear of the conditions held many back, but the true heroes went anyways.  My brother Pat, I am proud to say, was among the very early responders when he and a crew of doctors and nurses from Denver’s Children’s Hospital set up camp (literally and figuratively) in Port au Prince.  His nightly updates led BonaResponds to begin collections of money and of medical equipment.  

While University officials forbade a BonaResponds' trip to the suffering country, several of the leaders teamed up with AllHands and went to Leogane anyways.  While there, the enormity of it all was first glimpsed and a long-term commitment forged.

Not only was the earthquake the worst disaster I had ever seen, it had hit a nation that was already in great need of assistance on almost all fronts: health care, education, infrastructure, and economy.  The quake had broken buildings, destroyed roads, flattened schools and killed way too many people, but it had not beaten the spirit of the Haitian people.   

To spare the long story of our efforts in the years since, let me say that there have been many victories and some defeats. Overall things are getting better and that BonaResponds is playing a role (however small that role may be).  This is not to say that assistance efforts in Haiti are complete nor that BonaResponds is done helping.  There is still a great great need for assistance and our efforts are just hitting stride.  

Five years after the quake and some of my best friends are Haitian and there are few places I would rather be than in Haiti.

Five years after the quake, our hearts still go out to each and every Haitian who lost loved ones in the quake.  

Five years after the quake, our collective consciousness still hurts as the impoverished conditions of so many are made even more challenging by the great losses they suffered.  

Five years after the quake, we reaffirm our commitment to work with Haitians to not only rebuild, but to build back better and to give all Haitians the future and opportunities that all people deserve.

Five years after the quake, you are still needed.  Whether you are a Haitian living in the slums of Port au Prince or a high flier living in a NYC Penthouse, you can make the difference in the lives of many others.  Be a leader.  Organize a garden program.  Donate to HaitiScholarships to fund an education.  Donate to BonaResponds for solar for schools.  Collect lightly used school supplies. Tutor students. Donate to plant trees. But do something.  

Do it in memory of all of those who died, but also do it so that such a disaster never happens again.   You can be the difference. We all MUST be the difference.

Change the world for the better. It begins with you.    

Update on many fronts

My top ten list for the week:

In this relative lull in the post snow cleanup, a fast update on other fronts:

1. A huge THANK YOU to all who helped in Buffalo!  The snow was truly breathtaking.  To see the community come together was encouraging and heart warming.  We made three trips up and had almost 50 volunteers.  We helped to clear 29 driveways, about 15 fire hydrants,  several roofs, doors, and walkways.  We now wait and hope the flooding is not too bad.

2. Haiti continues to be a source of both our great successes and bitter frustration.  First the bad news:  key parts of the solar system we donated to a school in Leogane were stolen and the one in Gonaives burned up. Because of this, we have placed the VERY needed system on hold until we can figure out how to stop the crime.    It is mindboggling frustrating and humbling.  On the positive side, we have heard great successes at schools and orphanages in Lascambas and Gonaives.  (GREAT JOB Jean and Djemson and the others)

3. Instead of solar in Haiti we will fund a few composting toilets as a test.  (At least they are tougher to steal or break!).  They will make things safer in many ways and reduce disease.   Additionally, the waste can be composted into fertilizer.  The program has the added benefit of being cheaper too!  Only $320.  We will be paying $270 on at least a couple to start.  Why $270?  A condition of one of the donors was that the Haitians raise at least some of the money as well so that they would truly see its worth and not just as another throw-away NGO handout.

4.  Also in Haiti as part of our efforts to improve education, we will be working with @Haitischolarships, some people from the St Bonaventure School of Education, as well as schools in Haiti to create better standards and on teacher training.  This will include better reporting from Haitian schools and tracking of attendance (teacher and student) and tracking improvement.  This is a BIG WIN!

5. Today the last of the money raised in the #EndEbola leaf raking campaign will go out.  If anyone wants to continue to help in a very impoverished area, we sure would love the help!  Today the CYC crew is back in Monrovia.  Their Kids Camp starts soon.  (Dec 10)

6. Our book collection has gone VERY slowly, so we will extend it until Dec 8th. Remember these are for local families with children from pre K to grade 12.  Books can be left off in 104 Swan Building on the SBU campus.

7. On Saturday night, our van suffered a broken window while parked on campus.  If anyone wants to confess to the vandalism and pay for a new window, we will NOT take it to the police nor security.

8. We will be working this weekend.  Best guess is in Olean, but we may go to Buffalo again if the needs look great still.  Stay tuned.  

9. THANK YOU to those of you who donated this past week! Denise, Todd, Sean, Pat, Ryan, Gary, Patricia, and those who helped with food this weekend.  We have said many times, but it deserves repeating "Without you, BonaResponds is just a good idea."

10. Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!  We all have so many things to be thankful for.  We often forget that when we see all misfortune and sometimes pure evil that happens.  The good is much more common even though it tries to hide itself.  Be good!  Be Safe!  Volunteer and Change the world!

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Haiti Updates

Haiti (Photo credit: elycefeliz)

April 8, 2014

The purpose of this is two fold: one to keep everyone up to date on what is happening and secondly to recapture the momentum we had in January.

(all costs are in USD.  1 USD is about 44.6 HGd. http://www.currency.me.uk/convert/usd/htg)

What is happening? A lot! (Yeah I know, poor English).

* We had a HaitiScholarships Board meeting this past weekend.  It was good.  Several new board members who brought good energy.  They are interested in helping raise funds and hopefully raise the amount we can give.  Due to a lack of funds however we decided against opening the program up to new students at the current time.

* BonaResponds and Haitischolarships are teaming up with Achievenet (Normil’s internet cafe) to provide monthly online tutoring.  I am very excited about this!  We are renting the entire internet cafe (8 computers) for a couple of hours on Saturday mornings.  It is a definite Win:WIN:WIN!  (Haiti, Normil, and the students).  I hope it is the first of many similar programs.   We are also considering a program whereby teachers could get training and tips from teachers here as well.  This would improve the quality of classes in Haiti and likely lead to more interaction with US classes.

* A couple of science kits were sent to Haiti as a test case. The student leaders who are running this want to make it a long term project at many schools (and in multiple nations).  SO NEED feedback on them!  We can not stress that enough.  Think of them as test marketing.  Without feedback we will not know what is working and what is not working.  

*  Due to some troubles between the CJM primary and secondary schools, the primary school fell behind in paying their teachers.  A few of us (not BonaResponds) have stepped in (THANK YOU GREG!) and paid the back pay and committed to the payments for the rest of the semester (April and May).  This is a concern as we can not continue to do this long term.  It is our hope that the school will be approved for money from the Haitian Government by the summer and that will pay for the teachers (primary school students other than those in Kindergarten go to school for free).

* Wesley has identified a lack of food for students as the #1 issue holding back the schools.  We are looking into ways to lessen this problem.  In an ideal world some of the 108,846 meals we packed with Feed My Starving Children make their way to these kids as a short term solution.  Longer term we’d love to be able to sponsor a program there and in Gonaives to buy food (good for Haitian Economy).

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English: Satellite image showing deforestation in Haiti. This image depicts the border between Haiti (left) and the Dominican Republic (right). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

* We have been working on a few very exciting “green” projects that we hope have impact both in the US and in Haiti (as well as elsewhere!).  The first is a solar heater made with recycled aluminum cans.  Even in WNY where there is limited sun, we have been able to get the temperature well above 200 degrees.  So far the tests have been mainly “Proof of concept” (as Reed would say), but the results have been amazingly encouraging and have led to an expansion of this idea.   We also are testing a VERY easy way to make a charcoal replacement using scrap paper.  This would eliminate many of the garbage fires that burn as well as eliminate the need to cut trees for wood.  It is so easy and cheap that every family could have their own.  Stay tuned.  Again results look VERY promising.  

* I have not heard any updates of late from on the pen pal program.  I hope it is working but typically lack of information is not good news.  Anyone writing? Receiving letters?

* After discussing with a couple of teachers at the Secondary School and George, we plan on going forward with a small solar power project there.  The cost of what we had hoped to get (over $7500) was too much.  We are capping our investment at $2000.  So we will start small.  In the same vein we are still waiting to get an official quote from Robinson on his solar request in Gonaives.  The cost estimate we got did not include shoring up the roof and when it was included the cost was both open ended and likely too much (about $4500).  

*  Five barrels are still in transit containing tools, irrigation kits, school supplies, and books.  They were shipped about a month ago so should be arriving relatively soon. Once they leave our possession we have no way of tracking them.  We will announce it as soon as we know more.  (FYI We paid $2400USD for the last shipment which was slightly lower than initial estimate--that does not count the cost of shipment to the schools via tap-tap.)   Incidentally, this is what the irrigation kits mean to one group in Gonaives: "let me know when you have an update about when the barrels / the Irrigation kits will arrive in Haiti. The irrigation kits will be very important for the participants now as we have just finish with the re-transplanting process and the plants will need a good watering process which the irrigation kits will be very useful for!

*  The BonaSIMM board rejected our proposed microfinance lending in Haiti (and Uganda) but the result will be a new organization that will be doing it by this fall.  We have already received pledges/donations for $3500 to start in Haiti.  

* GoodNewsHaiti is continuing but at a much slower pace than had been hoped.  We have almost 300 "likers" on facebook, but we are dragging on website and even on participation on Facebook. If someone wants to champion this cause, it would be a great thing!

* On April 29th, BonaResponds is co-sponsoring a Barefoot Bonas day to collect shoes that will be donated to Soles for Souls.  As Haiti is a large recipient of the shoes, this is a good way to help and to clean out your closet!

*  A summer trip to Haiti is still being debated.  This would not be a BonaResponds trip but would be very similar.  Cost is a major issue.  The need is clearly there.  Stay tuned.

* We are aware the HaitiScholarships webpage is currently down. We are working on it. (Anyone want to help/take it over?)

If you would like to help, get involved!  :) you can donate (http://www.bonaresponds.org/donate.html), collect school supplies, tutor English for a couple of hours a month, write to penpals in Haiti, or much more.